First College Established to Accommodate Two Thousand Students

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen held the 2016 inauguration ceremony on the morning of September 4. The opening ceremony of the first college Shaw College was held on the same day.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen held the 2016 inauguration ceremony on the morning of September 4. Professor Joseph J.Y. Sung, Chairman of the Governing Board of CUHK (SZ), Dr. Norman Leung, Chairman of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Xu Yangsheng, President of CUHK (SZ), Professor Ariel Warshel, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and distinguished professor at CUHK (SZ), attended the ceremony along with members of the Governing Board and one hundred professors of CUHK (SZ). More than 2,000 undergraduates, graduates, Ph.D. candidates, international students and more than 1,000 freshmen‘s parents were also present.

On the ceremony, Professor Xu used the story of Chinese women's volleyball team to encourage students: "The coach Lang Ping has been my hero since I was a child. When asked about What is the spirit of women’s volleyball team? She answered that the spirit is not to win, but to fight tooth and nail even we know we may fail. It is the perseverance that keeps the team fighting on. Finally, the women’s volleyball team has recaptured the glory it enjoyed 12 years ago . Learning needs such a fighting spirit, too. I hope that you can seize the moment and study hard. If you just learn to pass your exams or get a diploma, you will waste your time. Our academic requirements are very high, and if you don’t work hard, your performance deteriorates. I hope that you face down challenges and hardships and emerge victorious. When you graduate, you will be amazed at your progress and proud of your achievement. As long as we hold fast to our dreams, we will be able to achieve them".

Professor Ariel Warshel, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry presented a keynote speech. He thought highly of the entrepreneurial environment in Shenzhen and said: “What impresses me most about Shenzhen is that it is home to both Chinese and international entrepreneurs. That means you have the intellectual potential and resources to make a great contribution in any area of your choice." In terms of students’ self-improvement, he believed that the pressures of exams, papers and laboratory reports in China can sometimes make ambitious students feel like being trapped in the library. However, students should volunteer and participate in exchange and improvement programs. These extracurricular experiences, combined with class performance, can prove instrumental to career building.

During the orientation week, each School, College, Graduate School holds its own activities to help students to get accustomed to a new campus life. Particularly on the evening of September 3rd, CUHK (SZ) also held a grand welcome dinner, where 2000 students, teachers, and parents gathered together to enjoy an audio visual feast offered by their peers.

In addition to ushering in a new semester, CUHK (SZ) witnessed the birth of its first college – the Shaw College. CUHK (SZ) inherits the tradition of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and adopts the collegiate system. Ms. Mona Fong, Chairman of the Shaw Foundation Hong Kong Limited, attended the Shaw College opening ceremony on the morning of September 4th and accepted the Run Shaw portrait as a gift.

Colleges are different from the traditional concept of schools because the latter focus on imparting professional knowledge, while Colleges concentrate on organizing collective activities to nurture students' interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity and to build up their self-confidence and raise their awareness social responsibility. The collegiate system is a unique feature of The Chinese University of Hong Kong over several decades. It breaks down the boundaries between schools and programs to enable students with different disciplines and cultural backgrounds to closely interact with teachers and peers.

On the morning of September 4th, the "Shaw International Conference Center Roof-sealing Ceremony" was held, indicating that this whole new campus will be delivered in August 2017.